Lawyers vandalise court room over police action

Jun 26, 2010 - Age Correspondent |

Kolkata

A group of angry lawyers allegedly vandalised the court room of Chief Justice Mohit Shantilal Shah of the Calcutta high court on Friday. They were protesting against their forcible eviction by the police from a room in the court premises following a dispute over its allotment on Thursday night.

Significantly, Justice Shah was transferred to the Bombay high court on Friday. He was in office for just six months after being elevated from the Gujarat high court on December 24, 2009. A senior high court official said that the transfer was decided upon during the tenure of the former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G Balakrishnan and the warrant arrived on Friday.
Officials at the chief justice court room said that some lawyers rushed in and vandalised the court room. The glass panes of the door were broken and the furniture were upturned. Senior counsel Subroto Mukhopadhyay, however, rejected the allegation. “It was only a glass pane that had come off the hinges and not due to any application of force,” Mr Mukhopadhyay said.
Protesting against the police action, the West Bengal Bar Council called a day-long ceasework at all the courts in the state on Friday while members of the Calcutta high court bar association called for a strike demanding the removal of the Chief Justice and the registrar for calling in the police. They held meetings and rallies in and around the court premises throughout the day.
Earlier, trouble broke out on Thursday evening following a dispute over allotment of a court room to assistant court officers by the Chief Justice which led to a confrontation with the bar association. A group of lawyers occupied the room and refused to vacate it despite several requests.

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